Story of a Freedom Fighter
by Likewow5556
Summary: Rewrite of Female Freedom Fighter. Katomi is Jet's best friend, always has been always will be. She and Jet both love eachother, but both are unwilling to admit it. What will happen to their friendship? Will it last? Or will it crumble?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.**

**AN: This is a rewrite of a story I wrote years ago. The story was called Female Freedom Fighter. However, this one is going to be majorly different than the original. You can just read this one and understand, or you could have read the original one and still enjoy this one. I hope you enjoy, and review! **

Chapter 1

When I was seven, my parents were killed in a Fire Nation raid on our small village. Me and my best friend, Jet, escaped the town and became orphans at the ages of seven and eight. We learned how to survive off the land by stealing when necessary, and learning how to survive off animals and berries. Jet kept his promise to my parents that he would watch me for as long as we lived.

I had known Jet since I was born, so transitioning to him being my sole caregiver wasn't that hard. I trusted him to make good decisions for me, and as we got older I started to rely on him more and more. Soon he basically became the person who did everything for me, and I let him control my life to a point.

When Jet was fourteen and I was thirteen, we met a bunch of kids like us; kids who hated the Fire Nation and who had lost their families in raids through the years. Some of them were younger than us, while others were Jet's age, or older. Jet suggested we band together to fight the Fire Nation. Most of us agreed, and since Jet was the one to suggest it, he was determined as leader. Everybody agreed, even people older than Jet. Over the years people have come and gone

It's been almost three years since the Freedom Fighters joined together and began fighting. Jet and the others built an elaborate series of tree houses that we all lived in. Most of us had our own space, but some of the newer people had to share rooms. Each house was connected by a ladder, and as a table we had a platform that Jet would frequently use as a place to give speeches. Jet didn't let me help him and the others build the tree houses, instead having me watch the younger kids, and deal with the everyday things back at our camp.

XxXx

"_Katomi, would you come here for a minute?" Jet called from somewhere behind me._

"_One second," I called back. "Let me just finish this up, ok?"_

"_Sure, take your time," He said, his voice slightly muffled by the ever present grass in his mouth. How he could talk and not drop that thing I will never know._

_I finished stirring the stew I was cooking, its contents being things that we've stolen as well as things some of the boys killed. While cooking, I saw Jet, leaning lazily against a tall tree, with a rope hanging down beside him. I was shocked, like always, at how gorgeous Jet was. His brown hair falling into his grey eyes. His eyes always shocked me at how expressive they can be. When he speaks of the Fire Nation, they are filled with hate, but when he speaks of things he likes, his eyes sparkle with happiness._

"_What's with the rope?" I asked him, confused._

"_You'll see," He replied sounding like he was suppressing a laugh. His eyes were twinkling with mischief. I suddenly found myself feeling nervous._

"_Just tell me what's going on!" I exclaimed. He just laughed at my response. "Fine, then. I'll just go away and leave you here!" I turned and started to walk away._

_Jet's hand shot out and grabbed my arm. He pulled me towards him, and my foot somehow caught a tree root so I tripped, causing us to both crash to the floor. Jet immediately started laughing, while I took in our position. I was lying across his chest. My cheeks immediately turned red, as I tried to pull myself up. Jet stopped me, and gently touched my hair._

_He pulled his hand back, grinning at me. "You had a leaf in your hair."_

"_O—oh," I replied, afraid to say anything else, thinking I might say something embarrassing._

_He stood up and held his hand out for me. I took it and h pulled me up. When I went to take my hand back, Jet wouldn't let me._

"_Close your eyes," He softly commanded._

"_Why?" I asked confused._

"_You trust me, right?" he asked._

"_Always," I answered immediately._

"_Then close your eyes. Nothing will happen to you, I promise"_

_I nodded my head. "Ok."_

_I closed my eyes and Jet pulled me towards him. I felt my back against his chest, and one arm was wrapped around me. Suddenly, we were airborne. I gasped in shock, and fought the urge to open my eyes. After a few seconds, my feet were planted on the ground again. I felt confused. I felt Jet let go of me, but then he placed his hands over my eyes, getting rid of any chance to see where we were. I knew that we were in a tree, but why?_

_Jet carefully started walking. I felt uncomfortable, not being able to see where we were going. I wanted to open my eyes so badly. After walking for what seemed like forever, we stopped. Jet stood still, his hands still covering my eyes._

"_Are you ready?" He asked, sounding excited._

"_Yes," I replied._

_Jet took his hands off my eyes. I opened them and had to blink a few times while I adjusted to the bright sun. Then I gasped in shock. We were standing in a—a _tree house. _I looked around and saw several other small houses made out of various different woods. There were about ten or eleven different houses._

_I came back to looking around this one. It wasn't that big but it was ok. There was a bed in one corner with a blanket, my favorite shade of blue-green. There was a tree stump that could serve as a table when needed. A red blanket covered the doorway and a sort of peg was to the side so the blanket could be pushed aside and the door could stay open._

_Jet was standing near the doorway, looking anxious. He was just watching me take in the room and the series of tree houses. I was amazed. I had no idea he and the others were doing this._

"_Jet," I said breathlessly. "This—this is _amazing_."_

"_You like it?" He asked nervously. While he was usually arrogant, I saw none of it on his face._

"_I love it," I exclaimed._

"_I'm glad," he smiled. "Happy birthday, Katomi."_

"_Wh—what?" I asked, glancing at him, confused._

"_You don't remember? When we were little, you told me that you wished we could go away and—"_

_I cut him off. "Live in the trees," I finished for him, amazed that he remembered it. We were so young when I told him._

"_Yeah," He said, sheepishly._

"_Oh Jet," I exclaimed, flinging myself into his arms. He caught me, laughing. I leaned up and kissed his cheeks, not noticing the slight blush on his cheeks. "This is the most amazing thing anybody ever did for me. Thank you!"_

"_It was no problem. Really."_

"_I love you, you know that?"_

"_I do. And I love you too."_

XxXx

Today I went with Jet to a small town. We had to walk for about an hour, but it was worth it. This town wasn't occupied, so we ran into no trouble. Fire Nation soldiers all know to look out for Jet…or so he claims. We went with about ten other people, because we need a ton of supplies.

"When were in the village, be discrete and try not to get caught," Jet instructed.

There were murmurs of agreement from most of the people. These "missions" are always dangerous for us, mostly because we steal. A lot. Jet has some money (from stealing from other people) that we will use to buy some things, but it's not enough to cover anything.

Other Freedom Fighters started to walk into town in small groups. When there were only a few people left, I stood up, getting ready to go into the town. Jet looked over at me and frowned. As I walked past him, he grabbed my arm.

"Where are you going?"

"The town?" I answered confused.

"No, I want you to stay here and guard the wagon."

"What? No! You said I could come with you!" I exclaimed.

"You came with us. Now watch the wagon."

"I don't want to," I exclaimed.

He sighed, frustrated. He blew air out of his pursed lips. "Katomi, I'm not telling you again. You're watching the wagon."

I sighed and pulled my arm out of his grip and sat down on the wagon. He smiled; happy I listened and walked into the town. I crossed my arms and glared at his back as he walked into the town.

I stayed there for a long time. People brought supplies to the wagon throughout the afternoon. If I knew Jet was going to pull this again, I wouldn't have come. I should have known better; he always treats me like I'm six. I'm not six, I'm fifteen! I'm old enough to help. Hell, some of the girls he lets help him are _younger _than me! Jet honestly makes no sense to me.

I got fed up just sitting here, so I covered the wagon with a tarp and I walked into town. I was going to try my best to avoid Jet, but if we run into each other, I guess we'll have to deal.

I was just glancing at different stalls, when I spotted Jet. He was talking to some girl in a beautiful dress. He handed her a Panda Lil, and I felt jealously surge through me. I felt angry. I hit something with my foot, and I immediately felt pain. Jet looked up, and I tried to duck, but he saw me.

Jet excused himself and practically stomped over to me. He locked eyes with me, as he grabbed my arm. I could tell he was angry. He pulled me up and started to walk towards the wagon.

"I thought I told you to stay by the wagon!"

"I got bored!" I exclaimed, wincing as my foot hit the ground.

"What happened?" He asked, suddenly looking concerned.

"Nothing, I just hit my foot."

"Does it feel ok?"

"It just hurts. But I'll be fine." I answered, wincing again.

"Here, lean on me," He said. I listened and he helped me over to the wagon. He made me sit. "I'll be back ok? Stay. Here."

He walked away and came back a little while later. He made sure I was ok, and then we headed back to the tree houses, with me in the wagon.

XxXx

Later that day, Jet and I were in the "Kitchen" by ourselves. Jet was sitting on the table food is usually prepared on. He had a piece of straw dangling in his mouth like always.

"Who was that girl?"

"What girl?" He asked, looking up at me, confused.

"The girl you gave the panda lily to."

"The merchant's daughter?" Jet replied, laughing. "Nothing. We were just talking. She said her name was Lilly, so I gave her a Panda lily. It was no big deal."

"I see," I answered, coldly.

"Why'd you ask?" He asked a smirk on his lips. I shrugged. "Are you _jealous _of her?"

"What? No!" I exclaimed.

"I think you are," Jet replied. "No. I know you are. But why?" He stood up and walked over to me. "Do you wish your hair was like hers?" he started, playing with my hair. "Or do you wish you were as tall as her? Or—"

"Jet stop!" I exclaimed, swatting his hand away. "I just think you could do so much better than her! She flirts with anything that moves!"

He smirked again, and leaned down so he could speak in my ear. "I still think you're jealous. But I'll find out why soon enough."

He straightened up and practically sauntered out of the room, humming to himself.

"There's nothing to figure out!" I called after him, causing him to just laugh.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer****: I don't own anything you recognize.**

Chapter 2

The next day, I felt more annoyed with Jet than ever. I'm not jealous of that girl's hair or money or whatever Jet's going to make up today. I'm jealous that he paid attention to her and not me. And I had already been angry at Jet from the village thing, so his little "mission" just made me angrier. Who does he think he is?

Someone opened the curtain to my room. I looked up and saw one of the boys around Jet's age, standing in the doorway. He was slightly taller than Jet, but not by much. He had shaggy black hair and green eyes.

"Come in," I said to him.

"Oh uh, sure," He said awkwardly.

"Did you need something, Tyro?" I asked, politely.

"Oh, um, yeah. Some of the girls needed you. They're mending clothes or something," he shrugged. "They asked me to come get you."

I sighed and stood up from my bed. As I walked over to him, my foot caught on to a tree root. I tripped and started to fall. Tyro's arms shot out and caught me before I could hit the floor. We stood like that, his arms around me for a few moments, shocked.

Just then, Jet appeared in the doorway, not noticing us at first. "Katomi, I had a ques…tion," he finally noticed us. Tyro and I quickly separated. "What's going on here?"

"Nothing, Jet," Tyro responded, blowing his hair out of his face.

"I tripped. Tyro caught me."

"Well isn't that…kind of him," Jet said, stepping into the room. His eyes were blazing and his voice was filled with hidden malice, "Tyro, can you excuse us?"

"Sure," he responded, walking out of the room.

I walked over to my bed and sat down. Jet walked over and stood in front of me, arms crossed. He stared at me intensely, and I tried to keep eye contact, but I eventually had to look away.

"What did I walk in on?"

"Nothing!" I exclaimed. "I told you, I just tripped and Tyro caught me."

"Are you sure that's what happened?"

I glared at him, "Yes, I'm sure."

"Katomi, I just ask because I care about you. You are too trusting and you don't realize how beautiful you are," He said, walking over and sitting down next to me. He brushed a piece of hair out of my face. "I worry about you, guys will take advantage of you and I may not be there to save you."

"Jet, I don't need "Saving" I can look after myself."

He made a disbelieving sound, but I could tell from his eyes that he didn't mean too. I glared at him and stormed out of my room, leaving him there, alone. He called after me pathetically.

I made my way into the kitchen and saw my friend, Jun sitting there. She looked up and smiled, but then frowned when she saw my face. "What happened?" She asked, concerned.

"Do you think I need "saving" all the time?"

"What? No! Who gave you that idea?"

"Jet," I replied. "He's so overprotective! It's so annoying! I can take care of myself!"

"I think…I think, Jet likes to think of you as the seven year old girl you were when you're parents died, rather than a girl who is sixteen and ready to be independent."

"I guess," I replied.

Jun nodded and started to cut an apple into pieces for dinner. I started to pluck the feather of a turkey someone killed in the forest. Jun and I always deal with cooking breakfast, lunch and dinner, and a few of the younger girls deal with cleaning up the kitchen and bringing dishes to the stream to clean once or twice a week. Most of the girls do laundry once a week, unless they are a part of Jet's fighting group.

Jet walked into the kitchen. "Katomi can I talk to you?"

"No," I replied. "I'm busy."

"Jun can't you handle dinner on your own for a few minutes?" Jet asked. Jun looked up, nervously.

"Um…I—I guess I could handle it…for a few minutes."

"See, Katomi, she can handle it, let's go talk."

I huffed and threw down the plate I was holding. It made a loud noise and Jet and Jun winced. Jet grabbed my hand and lead me out of the kitchen. We walked towards the ropes and both of us went down and landed on the ground. Jet lead me to an isolated part of the woods. I pulled my hand away and walked over to the edge of the cliff.

I took in the surroundings, seeing trees and the reservoir that has been left empty from the drought. I could make out Gaipan in the distance, but it wasn't very easy for me to see. I could sense Jet come up behind me, and then he put his hands on my shoulders. The sun was setting, causing everything to be cast in pinks and oranges.

"Did you bring me out here to push me off the cliff?" I asked, without turning around.

"Hmm…theres a though," he said teasingly.

"Ha, ha funny," I fake laughed, but there was definite ice in my voice.

"Katomi, I just want to protect you."

"There's protecting someone and then there's you. You're out of control! I was just talking to Tyro and I thought you were going to hurt him."

"I wasn't going to hurt him," Jet scoffed.

"You sure as hell looked like it!" I exclaimed, angrily.

"Whoa, where did you learn to curse?" He demanded.

"Seriously?" I demanded, giving him a look.

"I'm serious!" He exclaimed.

"This is what I'm talking about! Jet I'm sixteen! I can handle myself. I'm not seven anymore. I don't need you like that anymore"

"You think I don't know that?" Jet demanded. "You think you don't need me? We'll see how long _that _lasts," he started to storm back into the woods.

I started after Jet, instantly flashing back to another time Jet left me in a fit of anger.

_I was about thirteen and Jet was fourteen. It was before we created the Freedom Fighters. I was tired of walking and I was hungry. Every few steps I would tell Jet that, and how angry I was that we had to leave the inn that we had been doing work for in order to sleep there. A friendly inn keeper had given us rooms and jobs. He had a son who was about seventeen or eighteen who was very friendly to me._

"_Jet I don't understand why you have to be so prideful all the time! If you hadn't been so stubborn we should be in Gaoling and not walking!"_

_Jet growled in response and whirled around to tower in front of me, his eyes flashing. I felt myself shrink back from him._

"_You think it was my _pride _that made us leave?" He demanded. "My pride had nothing to do with it. We left so I could protect _you,_" he yelled._

"_What do you mean?"_

"_That man, the inn keeper's son was raising you to be his whore, Katomi!" He yelled._

_I felt like I was slapped. I stepped back. "N—no."_

"_It's true, Katomi."_

"_It's not. He was just being kind," I whispered._

"_You know that isn't true," Jet said hotly, placing a hand on my shoulder. I shrugged my shoulder to get rid of his hand."_

"_Leave me alone!" I shouted, tears starting to pour down my face. He looked at me and stormed off. I sank to my knees and buried my face in my hands. I cried for being so trusting and naïve and for not realizing it sooner. The signs were all there. He would give me time off and he treated me better than anybody else's. He treated Jet terribly, and he tried to keep us apart. He bought me things like necklaces and clothes. I should have known. Jet shouldn't have had to tell me._

_I stayed, kneeled down in the leaves as it got dark. I heard a howling sound and my body immediately froze. I realized how cold it was, and how truly hungry I felt. A biting wind blew by, causing me to shake violently. I looked around and saw nothing. Jet wasn't coming back._

_The thought of never seeing Jet again absolutely terrified me. It scared me more than starving to death or freezing. Jet has been the one constant in my life and I can't imagine him gone. He does everything for me; the hunting and creating the fires. He finds shelter and always knows what he's doing. Without me slowing him down, he'll be fine. He can take jobs where he can, he'll be just fine. I probably won't make it through the night._

_I must have dozed off because I woke up with a start when I heard a twig snap nearby. I jolted up, feeling terrified. I saw a tall figure in the distance. It was too dark to make out any features, but I could see that it was definitely a person. The figure moved closer to me and I closed my eyes._

"_Don't hurt me, please," I begged, hot tears pouring down my cold face._

"_Katomi, it's me," Jets comforting voice said. He kneeled down beside me. I could see his ace in the moonlight. "I'm so sorry I left." I could see tear stains on his cheeks. "Please forgive me."_

"_You're forgiven," I whispered hoarsely. He kissed my forehead and his face told me he was shocked at how cold my skin was._

"_I'm going to make a fire," he said, shrugging out of his jacket and wrapping it around me. _

_I watched Jet make a fire with the spark rocks he stole a few days ago. He made a small fire and led me over to it, wrapping his arms around me. I fell asleep feeling warmer than ever._

I felt tears prick my eyes and start to fall. I jumped up and chased after him. "Jet wait! Please!" I kept running, but he didn't seem to notice or care. "Stop!" I shouted again.

He abruptly stopped and I crashed into him, falling to the ground. His eyes were blazing, but when he saw my tears, they softened and he leaned down and helped me back up, and pulled me to his chest.

"Jet I do need you," I said quietly. "But not the same way that I needed you then. Now, I need you because you're my best friend and I love you! You're all I have left!"

"I know, I'm sorry," he said. I kept crying. "Why are you crying?"

"I was thinking about when we had that fight over the inn keeper's son."

"Why were you thinking about that?"

"Because you left me again."

"I won't leave you again, ok?" I nodded. He leaned down and kissed my cheek. "Good, I'm glad his is all over."

"We should get back, dinner is going to be soon," I told him. Jet nodded and wrapped his arm around my shoulders

We were walking; we heard the sounds of marching footsteps. I froze and Jet put his finger to his lips to tell me to be quiet. I looked panicked around me, and Jet made his way to a tree, pulling me along. I recognized the tree as one of the trees we regularly used to spy on the Fire Nation. Jet motioned for me to climb up, using the small foot holes we've carved into the trunk.

I quickly scrambled up the tree to a branch and then pulled myself up to a sturdier branch a little ways up. Jet followed and stood on a stronger branch, watching the Fire Nation soldier's go by.

There were about thirty of them, all wearing the typical armor of the Fire Nation, as well as the helmets. My breath was stuck in my throat as I watched Jet. He was watching them intensely, and I was afraid he was going to do something stupid. He can't take all of those soldiers on his own. Hell together we would be useless against them.

I touched Jets shoulder and he turned his head to look at me. "Remember your promise," I whispered. Jet nodded understandingly and sat down on the thick branch. He held on to my hand.

About twenty minutes later we made our way down. It was now pitch black out and I could tell it was getting late. Due to Jets paranoia, he wouldn't let us go down until he was positive the soldiers were gone. He grabbed my hand and we quickly walked towards the hide out. We definitely missed dinner, which is just great.

We finally got to the hide out and we both used the ropes to get back up. People looked at us as we made our way through the bridges. We walked into the kitchen and saw a young girl, Sue gathering dishes together for tomorrows wash day. She looked up and smiled at us.

"Jun left those plates for you two," She said, pointing at two plates on the table.

"Thanks," I smiled at her. "Where are the other girls?"

"They're coming soon. I just thought I would get a head start."

I nodded.

"Katomi, let's go eat in my room," Jet said, picking up both plates and walking out.

"Bye Sue," I smiled.

"Bye Katomi!" She said, happily.

I followed Jet to his room. He was sitting on his hammock, the plate in his lap. I sat down at the tree stump that serves as a table.

"Why didn't you want to eat in the kitchen?" I asked

Jet shrugged. "I wanted to be alone with you for a little while longer."

"Ah, I see," I smiled at him.

Jet nodded and we ate in peace. When we were finished, Jet had me come over to his hammock and I lied down next to him, close to his body. All of a sudden I felt tired. Jet was very warm and lying next to him was comfortable. I love being close to Jet and I love just being with him.

I must have fallen asleep because I woke up when Sneers stuck his head in the doorway and said: "Katomi? The Duke had another nightmare. He wants you."

I sat up dazed. "I'll be right there."

Jet grabbed my arm as I tried to get up. I thought he was still asleep, but then I saw his smirk and knew that he was awake. I frowned and pulled myself out of is grip.

"Jet, I need to get up," I said, sitting up and getting out of the hammock.

Jet sat up after me and got up. "I should go see what's going on with everything." He hugged me and walked out of his room, purposely.

I followed Sneers to the room he shares with the Duke and Pipsqueak. Duke was sitting up in his bed, tears flowing down his face. I rushed over to him and held him tightly to me. He was crying still and taking deep shuddering breaths.

"Shh…calm down, it's ok," I said softly.

I stayed with him or about an hour before he fell back asleep. He shouldn't have to go through this when he's only eight. It's not ok, and it's so sad that we all have no parents because of this war. It's made me think about so much and everybody that been lost in the past hundred years. Why should we all suffer? We did nothing. It's so upsetting.

Jet poked his head into the room and I detangled myself from the small bed. Jet had a small smile on his face. I walked over to him, and we walked in silence to my room. I t must be very late because I felt tired and nobody was walking around. Jet and I always seem to be the last to sleep but some of the first to wake up.

We got to my room and Jet kissed me on the cheek.

"Are you jealous of Lily's parent's money?" He asked, with a cheeky smirk on his face.

"Good night Jet," I said forcefully, too tired to play games.

"Night, Katomi," He said laughingly.

**AN: I'm so sorry that it's taken such a long time to update, but schools been absolutely crazy. I get out of school in a few weeks, so updates should definitely become more frequently. Thanks so much for the reviews and I hope you enjoyed the chapter. If you have any suggestions or ideas feel free to PM me or leave them in a review. If I use an idea I will definitely give credit. Thanks! **


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I could hear them before I could see them. Whenever Jet and the other Freedom Fighters find a camp to raid, they get rowdy and excited. I knew that they would be excited tonight and I sighed. Rowdy Freedom Fighters are very frustrating to deal with.

"Sounds like we're going to have our hands full tonight," Jun said, sighing.

I nodded. "Why they must get so excited over these things, I will never know."

"Yeah, I agree. I understand getting excited _after _the raid, but before? I don't get it," she laughed.

Jet walked into the kitchen, smiling to himself. "We found a camp," he informed us.

"Oh, we know," I replied. He raised his eyebrow in response. "You guys are so rowdy when you find a camp," I explained.

"Ah, I see," he replied. 'I'm going to need you two to look after the younger kids tomorrow, keep them out of the way."

"Sure," Jun said smiling.

"Can't I come with you guys?" I asked.

"No," Jet said without thinking.

"What? Why not!" I demanded.

"It's too dangerous, you're not coming."

I glared. "You let The Duke go, but not me?"

"He can hold his own," Jet replied.

"And I can't?" I yelled. "Ugh! You are such a hypocrite!" I stormed out the room and away from Jet.

As I left, I heard skin hitting skin and Jet said 'ow' so I'm assuming Jun hit him. I smirked to myself and walked into what felt like a solid wall.

"Katomi! Are you ok?" Tyro asked me, looking concerned. He leaned down and helped me up.

"Why is it that whenever I see you, I trip or fall?" I asked, laughing.

"No idea," he replied, laughing.

"You busy?" I asked.

"Not really, why?"

"Wanna go for a walk?"

"Sure," he replied, smiling.

An hour later, I found myself walking through the woods with Tyro. I found that we actually had a lot in common.

"My mom died giving birth to my baby sister," Tyro was telling me. "And then when I was 15, my village was attacked. My father was killed and my sister was taken. I haven't seen her since."

"Oh, Tyro," I said sympathetically. "I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," He replied. "But it did drive me to come join the Freedom Fighters."

I nodded. "We're glad to have you," I said, smiling. "We need all the people we can get if we're going against the Fire Nation."

"Now you sound like Jet," Tyro laughed.

"Well, I did grow up with him, and he's my best friend."

"How is that, exactly? You're so different than him."

"Our parents were best friends," I told him. "They raised us together."

"_Jet, Katomi, time for dinner," Jet's mom, Ame, called out._

"_Coming we shouted back and started running._

_Ame and my mother were standing outside Jet's house. I always that that Ame was so pretty. She had dark brown hair that went down to her waist, and expressive brown eyes. Jet got his eyes from his mom and everything else from his father, Dai. His father was very friendly and kind. He was an amazing sword fighter. Jet inherited that skill from him._

"_Go inside and wash up you two," My mom, Naomi, told us, smiling. Her green eyes were twinkling._

"_Race ya!" a six year old Jet exclaimed._

"_Be careful!" Ame shouted after us, laughing._

_We ran into the house and to the bowl that was located in the kitchen-area. We both submerged our hands and used the crude soap next to the dish. The brown dirt came of our hands and floated in the now dirty water. We wiped our hands on a rag and raced outside where our fathers had set up a table._

_My mom pulled me into a hug, her black hair tickling my face. I giggled and pulled away from her. She let go and went back to talking to Jets mom. They laughed about something, and looked happy._

_My father came out of the house, and kissed my mom. They smiled lovingly at one another. My father was one of the five earthbenders in our village. The rest were non-benders._

What was it like then?" Tyro asked.

"We were all happy," I said, with the hint of a smile. I could still remember my mom's laugh, and how loving she was with my father. Tears burned at my eyes.

"Hey! I'm sorry," Tyro said. "I didn't want you to cry."

"I'm fine, it's ok," I said quickly. "It's good to talk about my parents."

"Well, I'm always there to talk," Tyro offered.

"Thanks," I smiled. "I'm there for you too."

"We should head back," Tyro said. "I think Jets holding a meeting about the raid tomorrow."

I nodded, "ok," I answered, even though I was still annoyed with Jet my anger had subsided. I just wish he had more faith in me.

We walked back in quiet to the hangout. We both went up and everybody was making their way to our main meeting/eating area. We saw Jet standing at the front of the platform, waiting for everybody to get there. When he saw us arrive together, his eyes narrowed slightly but he didn't say anything.

"Now that everyone's here, we can get started," Jet began. "Tomorrow, we'll be raiding yet another camp." People cheered and Jet raised is hand up to silence everybody. "Every successful raid means more soldiers come, but we have the upper hand! They have no idea where we are, but we know where _they _are. However, we need to remain vigilant in ridding the valley of those vile pigs!"

"Down with the Fire Nation!" Smellerbee shouted.

"Yeah!" Some of the others shouted.

"Tomorrow, the raid will include Smellerbee, Sneers, Longshot, Tyro, The Duke, and Pipsqueak. All of you stay after to go over the plan. On another note, we need ideas on how to fill the reservoir with water. If anybody has any ideas, come find me."

Everybody got up and started to walk away and go about their business; but not me. Jet called my name and asked me to stay with him for a few minutes, probably to apologize for earlier. Jet told the awaiting raid team to wait a few minutes while he talked to me.

I walked over to Jet and crossed my arms across my chest.

"Where'd you go earlier?" he asked.

"I went for a walk," I replied.

"Alone?"

"What does that matter for?"

"Stop avoiding the question!"

"I was with Tyro, if you must know," I rolled my eyes.

"Tyro, huh?" He asked, raising his eyebrow. "You've been spending a lot of time with him, lately. You like him or something?"

"What? No! I mean he's nice and I like him as a friend, but no, I don't like him."

"I have things to do, I'll see you later," he said suddenly.

"Yeah, ok, whatever," I called at his retreating back.

I walked into my room and lied on the bed. I suddenly remember this one time I was upset over something, and Jet and I lied in this bed together.

_I was lying in bed crying. I was about 15 and Jet was 16. One of the older girls who had lived her briefly, Hiromi, had insulted me and called me ugly and useless. I had stood strong in front of her but I crumpled in my room. Within minutes, Jet had been beside me, comforting me._

_Jet lied down on the bed beside me and pulled me into his strong arms. He rubbed my back and would whisper soothing things in my ear every once in a while. When I finally calmed down, I looked at Jet._

"_Why is Hiromi so mean to me?" I asked._

"_Because you're beautiful and she stuck looking like a hog monkey," Jet said. I immediately started laughing._

"_She does look like a hog monkey," I giggled. Jet had a small smile on his face._

"_She's jealous of you, but you need to be the stronger person, ok?"_

"_Yeah," I replied. I rested my head on his chest and I could feel how tense he was, even though he appeared so calm. 'Are you ok?"_

"_Me? I'm fine," He replied, looking down at me, amused. "You were just crying your eyes out and now you're asking _me _if _I'm _ok?" He laughed. "You amaze me, Katomi. You're so sweet and beautiful."_

_I blushed. "I'm not beautiful."_

_He stared at me like I was insane. "Of course you're beautiful!"_

"_Yeah, ok," I replied._

The next day, I slept later than usual. After I got dressed, I went into the kitchen and saw that Jun had gotten a majority of the cooking done. The fire pit was already blazing and the water was already boiling in the pot.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"A little after eight I think," she replied.

"Did Jet leave yet?" I asked.

Jun nodded. "Yeah a little while ago."

"Oh, ok," I replied.

"Is everything ok? You overslept and you never do that."

"Yeah, I think I just needed rest. I don't remember falling asleep, but it must have been fast."

Jun nodded. "You work too much, that's why you're so tired."

"Yeah," I answered.

The day went by slowly. It was excruciating, waiting for Jet and the others to come back. I did anything to keep myself occupied, like helping with laundry, telling stores to some of the younger children and gossiping wit the other girls. The later it got the more anxious I felt. I know that raids usually take this long, but I felt off. All of a sudden I just _knew _that something went wrong.

I heard the running of feet before I saw them. Smellerbee was at my door, looking panicked. Her hair was messier than usual and I could see blood on her hands and clothes. I immediately stood up.

"What happened? Are you ok?" I demanded.

"Not mine," She said, cryptically. "Jets."

With that word, everything seemed to freeze. In what felt like slow motion, she grabbed my hand and we were running. I felt like I was in a bubble, and everything was muffled. It was like I was watching myself run but I wasn't actually doing it.

When I saw Jet, being helped onto a bed, his skin paler than normal, and an arrow sticking out of his shoulder, I wanted to fall apart and cry. I saw Longshot looking horror-stricken and I realized what happened. Longshot never misses a target; Jet got In the way of the arrow.

I was beside Jet before I knew it. He was sickly pale, and his hands were sweaty when I grabbed it. His eyes were closed and he looked…dead. But then he moaned and opened his eyes.

"Katomi," he rasped out. "Don't…want…you too…" he winced and closed his eyes. "See this."

"I'm staying," I said stubbornly, holding onto his hand, tightly.

One of the older girls, Janya, came in. She is basically our healer. She knelt down next to him, and I closed my eye as she removed the arrow. Jet's screams were muffled by the cloth she had him bite on. I felt the tears coming, but blinked them away. Jets screams subsided and Janya was cleaning the wound. She had one of the girls light a small fire and she put a needle into the fire to sterilize it. I didn't realize how tightly Jet was gripping my hand until I looked down.

Janya had stitched the wound shut and wrapped it with bandages we've accrued over the years. We have a lot of medical supplies that we've bought or traded for as well as supplies we've stolen. Janya is 17, turning 18 soon. She is very knowledgeable with herbs and ways to heal people. She joined us when she was 16, and she's definitely been useful over the years.

A little while later, I was sitting next to Jet while he slept. He was still pale, but he was definitely regaining some of his color. He looked peaceful for the most part, but sometimes when he moved, his face would screw up in pain. I hated when that happened because I hate him being in pain. It causes me pain to see him in pain.

I must have fallen asleep next to him, because the next thing I remember is hearing Jet's raspy voice saying "wake up." I jolted up and stared at him. He was sitting up slightly, with his back propped up by a pillow. He still looked in pain, but he was good at hiding it.

"You're awake!" I exclaimed.

He laughed weakly. "Yeah, I am."

"I'm so relieved. I was so scared when I saw you," I said, my voice choking on tears as they started flowing down my cheeks.

"Oh, come here," He said, gently. I lied down on the bed next to him, gently and hugged him. He winced slightly but didn't say anything. "I'm fine, Katomi. I'm not going anywhere."

"But what if something does happen to you?" I cried. "I couldn't take it."

"You're strong, you would survive," He said.

"How do you know that?"

"I just do," He replied. "Just believe me."

Someone walked into the room, and I looked up and saw Longshot standing there. He looked terrible, his eyes red from possibly crying and he looked guilty. I could tell that he felt terrible for what he did. He walked over to the chair I had been sitting in and sat down. He and Jet shared a look, and he very quietly said "I'm sorry. This is my fault."

"Longshot, I don't blame you," Jet said. "It was not your fault. I should have been more careful, ok? Stop beating yourself up. I lived, I'm going to be fine, and we can all put this behind us."

Longshot nodded and sat with us in silence for a while. Then he got up and walked out of the room and into the hallway. Janya walked in and laughed when she saw me on the bed.

"You two are so funny. I tell Jet to be careful and take it easy and you're in his bed, lying all over him," She said, smiling to herself. "You two are never going to be able to handle being apart. Good thing you're meant for each other," She said so quietly that I didn't believe that I heard her right.

**AN: Sorry for the long wait, but I had finals this week and I've been studying like crazy. They're over now and summers finally here so I should be updating more frequently. I hope you liked it! If you have any suggestions or things you want to see, please let me know and I'll try to fit it in! Read and review!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

A few days after Jet's accident, he was up and moving again, despite my hesitancy. I didn't want him to reinjure his wound, and even though Janya told me that she thought Jet was ready, I was very unwilling to believe that. However, I did go along with Janya and Jet, who insisted he was ready to be out and about. I just stayed on Jet for most of the time and watched him.

"How's your shoulder?" I asked Jet as we walked towards his room.

"Its fine, Katomi. No pain at all," Jet replied easily, though I could hear a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"You would tell me if it hurt, right?"

He stopped and turned to face me. He put his hands on my shoulders and looked into my eyes. "Katomi, stop worrying about me. I am fine. My shoulders healing and it rarely hurts now. If it was still hurting, I would tell you and I would still be in bed. But I am fine, and I want you to stop worrying. It's not healthy, ok?"

I nodded my head, "Ok, I'll stop worrying about your shoulder."

"Thank you," he replied, slinging his good arm around my shoulders and resumed walking towards his room.

We walked into his room, and I sat down on the tree stump in the middle of the room, while he sat down in his hammock. "What's the plan for the next raid?"

"I'm not sure yet," Jet replied. "I had Smellerbee and Longshot go out and survey if there are any new Fire Nation camps out there."

I nodded. "Well, don't go raid anything until Janya tells you that you can! I don't want you to reinjure your shoulder."

"I know Katomi; I'm going to be fine."

"I know you are," I replied, smiling at him, to show that I wasn't going to start lecturing him again. "I hope they find a camp soon though."

"Me too," Jet sighed.

"What's the matter?"

"I would really like to rid this entire forest of the Fire Nation and save Gaipan from them, once and for all. We would be saving so many people, Katomi. Innocent people shouldn't die at the hands of ruthless firebenders. The Fire Nation isn't going to stop until they conquer everything. But we won't let that happen, right?" Jet looked at me.

"Right," I agreed, meeting Jets eyes. "We're going to stop them."

"We are," Jet nodded. "One day, parents will know what it's like to have their children taken from them, and children will know what it's like to lose their parents. They will know what we feel every day. What we've felt since our parents were taken from us."

I haven't seen Jet this worked up in weeks. I think his shoulder wound is making him become stir-crazy, since he hasn't left the tree house since it happened. He hasn't had a way to get his aggression out. Jet has always been passionate about his hatred for the Fire Nation, but I've noticed over the past few weeks he's been a lot…saner. He hasn't ranted about the Fire Nation like this in a while, and it scares me when he gets like this. He lashes out to people, even when they want to help him.

"Katomi are you listening?" Jet demanded, looking at me. I realized that he had kept on talking while I was thinking.

"Ye—yeah," I replied, fake smiling.

"Are you ok?" Jet asked, suspiciously.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied. "…I just haven't seen you like this in a while."

"Like what?" He demanded, looking angry.

"So…angry," I answered.

"Of course I'm angry Katomi. Those Fire Nation _pigs _took our parents from us. Aren't you angry?"

"Of course I'm angry, Jet," I replied, standing up and walking over to him. I placed my hand on his good shoulder. "But it's not good to be this angry, Jet. Some day you have to leave this anger behind."

"I'm never going to let go of my anger, Katomi. You should know that by now," Jet said, his eyes showing the hurt that I know he feels every day; the same hurt that I feel. "I'm going for a walk."

Jet walked out of the room and I sighed and sat down on his hammock and put my head in my hands. I hate making Jet angry, but I wish he wouldn't be like this. That anger is going to get him into trouble one day, and I worry about that happening. I don't think I could live without Jet being by my side, which could be problematic. Jet can be so incredibly loyal, but he can also turn on you with little warning. I've seen it happen to people in the past.

A knock on the door brought me out of my thoughts. I looked up and saw Hideko standing there. She was a young girl, about eleven, who was separated from her parents and found us a few months ago. She had the most beautiful black hair and the bluest eyes.

"Hey sweetie," I said. "What's up?"

"Why are you in Jet's room?" She asked, stepping gingerly inside.

"I was just talking to him," I replied.

"Why'd he storm out looking angry then?"

I sighed. Hideko was always more observant then the average eleven year old typically is, and much more inquisitive. "We just had a small argument, that's all. Did you need him?"

"No, I just wanted to see you," she said, smiling.

"In that case, let's go back to my room," I replied, standing up, and taking her hand. "It smells like boy in here anyways."

Hideko giggled as we walked out of Jet's room and towards my own. We walked in and we sat on my bed.

"Will you do my hair?"

"Sure!" I exclaimed, and Hideko sat down in front of me on the bed, and I started to braid her hair into two braids and fastened the bottom with two pieces of string. When I finished, she smiled at me.

"Thank you so much, Katomi! You're like a big sister I never had," She told me.

I smiled back at her. "Thank you, sweetie. You're just like a little sister to me, too."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead," I told her, lying down across my bed.

"Are you in love with Jet?"

"Wh—what are you talking about?"

"I've seen the two of you together. It reminds me of how my mom and dad acted when I was still with them."

"It's…complicated," I finally said after a few moments. "We've been friends for as long as I can remember."

"Well I think he likes you," Hideko expressed.

"I'll keep that in mind," I said.

The next morning, Jet woke me up early. He looked tired, and like he hadn't slept all night. I sat up and saw that it was still dark outside. Jet's eyes were bloodshot and puffy from lack of sleep.

"What's going on?" I asked, quietly.

"I'm sorry for blowing up earlier," Jet said. "I was just…frustrated, I guess."

"Its fine Jet," I smiled at him. "I don't blame you."

"Do you really think I'm too angry?"

"No, I don't," I answered after a few minutes. "I think you're the passionate boy that I've always known. You care for people who are exploited or loyal to you. I think that you're Jet, the boy that I grew up with and I can't imagine my life without you."

Jet wrapped his arms around me, and we lied down on my bed. Jet stayed quiet for a while, and I realized that he fell asleep. I closed my eyes and focused on Jet's rhythmic breathing. I quickly fell asleep too.

About a week later, Janya gave Jet the go ahead to raid camps again. Smellerbee and Longshot had found a camp to raid, and they planned on going very early like usual to stake it out and wait for an opportune moment. I was going to stay behind, because I didn't trust myself to not freak out every time Jet did something. Jet had offered to let me go, which I appreciated, but I was glad to stay at the camp and help Jun out with cooking.

The day went by quickly, and soon the others had returned. They got home a lot earlier than usual, so I went to meet them. I was standing on the platform, watching as Jet surfaced with a…_girl _on his arm? Who is that? And why is she with Jet? The girl had brown hair in a braid and was wearing Water Nation clothes. I noticed two other guys I didn't recognize, one was bald and the other had Water Nation clothes and a ponytail.

I watched as Jet made his way, slowly across the bridge, stopping to talk to the girl on the way. My eyes narrowed, as I watched them. They were talking quietly and looking at the ground so I couldn't make out what they were saying. The others walked past me, and looked at me as they passed.

When Jet and that…girl made their way across the bridge, Jet looked at me. "Hey Katomi, this is Katara."

"It's nice to meet you!" the girl…Katara said.

"You too," I replied. "I need to go to the kitchen to help finish cooking."

"Katara, why don't you go with Katomi?" Jet suggested. "I have stuff I need to do, but I'm sure you guys could use an extra hand, right?" He asked me.

"Yeah," I said grudgingly. "We could always use extra help."

Katara followed me to the kitchen. Jun was cutting up vegetables and when she saw me and Katara walk in, she looked up. Her eyebrows furrowed when she saw Katara, and she looked confused.

"Jun, this is Katara," I told her.

"Hello!" Jun said sounding friendly.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you," Katara smiled. I fought the urge to roll my eyes.

"You too," She said. "Are you from the Water Nation?"

"Yes, me and my brother, Sokka. He's somewhere around here, with our friend, Aang."

Jun nodded. "Are you here to help?"

"Jet suggested that I help, so here I am!" She said, smiling.

"That's great, we can always use more help. Could you go look at the meat on the fire and turn it until it looks ready?"

"Sure," she said, and went to do that.

Dinner was finished earlier than usual, thanks to Katara. I could tell that I didn't like her already, but I don't exactly know why. We made our way out to the table and people got their food and sat down. Jet was going to give a speech during dinner tonight. It was dark out, so we lit all the lanterns we had hung up for light. I sat down at my usual spot next to Jet at the head of the table. Smellerbee sat diagonal from me and Sokka, Katara, and Aang sat diagonal from Jet.

When Jet finished eating, he stood up on the table as he frequently does. "Today, we struck another blow against the Fire Nation swine." Everyone cheered "I got a special joy from the look on one soldier's face, when the duke dropped down on his helmet and rode him like a wild Hog-Monkey." The duke got up and did a lap to the cheering of everyone else. Jet continued speaking. "Now, the Fire Nation thinks they don't have to worry about a couple of kids hiding in the trees. Maybe they're right." People started booing. "Or maybe," Jet paused slightly for effect. "They're _dead wrong_." The Freedom Fighters started cheering again.

Jet's speech was finished, and he went and sat in between Sokka and Katara instead of sitting back down next to me. I felt shocked and hurt.

"Hey Jet," Katara's _annoying _voice said. "Nice speech."

"Thanks," Jet replied. "By the way, I was really impressed with you and Aang. That was some great bending I saw out there today."

"Well he's great. He's the Avatar," Katara answered. I felt annoyed by her stupid modesty. "I could use some more training." She freaking _blushed_.

"Avatar, huh? Very nice," Jet told them.

"Thanks, Jet!" Aang exclaimed.

"So, I might know a way that you and Aang can help in our struggle," Jet told them. Interesting…do go on, Jet.

"Unfortunately, we have to leave tonight," Sokka said, standing up and starting to walk away.

"Sokka, you're kidding me! I needed you on an important mission tomorrow," Jet told him.

Sokka stopped. "What mission?" He asked, turning around.

"It's a stake out mission. I think that the Fire Nation is going to send some spies in the woods tomorrow; I need your help to catch them in the act. Will you help me?"

"Fine, we'll stay. But just one more day."

"Excellent," Jet said, smiling. He got up and came back over to me. "So, Katomi, I have a favor to ask."

"What is it?" I asked him, looking at him.

"Convince Sokka to stay for a while," Jet told me.

"What? How?"

"You're a girl, figure it out," He said. "I think Katara and Aang may be very…useful to me in my plan to rid Gaipan of the Fire Nation," Jet told me quietly so nobody overheard me.

"You want me to seduce Sokka? Really?"

"Not seduce him, befriend him," Jet replied, quickly. He looked like he didn't like the idea of me seducing someone.

"I'll get on it tomorrow," I told him.

"And remember, I just want you to _befriend _him, nothing else."

I nodded. "Alright, I'll do it."

"Good, I knew I could count on you," he said, leaning in and kissing my cheek. "I can always count on you."

"Yes, you can," I said, smiling at him. I could feel eyes on us, and saw Katara watching us. Jet looked over at her, and smiled at her. My eyes narrowed and I didn't like it. "I'm gonna go talk to Jun, ok?"

"Yeah, sure," he said, looking distracted. He got up and went back over by Katara, who was now alone.

I walked over to Jun and we walked to my room to talk. I sat down on the bed and Jun did the same.

"I don't like Katara."

"Why not?" Jun asked. "She seems really nice."

"I don't know…" I replied. "Something about her makes me so angry, Jun."

"Could it be that Jet's paying attention to her?"

"What? Of course not," I said quickly. "Well…maybe."

"Let's face it, Katomi. You like Jet."

"He's my best friend," I answered.

"Katomi, you like the boy. There's no denying it. I swear everybody knows _but _you two."

"Jun…you're right. I like Jet."

**AN: Thank you guys for the amazing reviews! You have no idea how much I appreciate it. I hope you all like this chapter. I'm sure you recognize some of the dialogue from the episode 'Jet'. I obviously don't own that. And I know that there is a lot of Katara bashing in this chapter, and I do not feel that way about her. It's just Katomi's jealousy talking. If anybody has any ideas or things they would like to see, definitely let me know and I'll try to include it in the story. Katomi has finally realized that she likes Jet…big shocker, right?**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The next morning, I woke up early and immediately went to the kitchen to start breakfast. To my dismay, Katara was already there. She was cutting up fruit and vegetables for everybody, and Jun was flipping over the meat over the fire. Jun looked up and smiled sympathetically at me.

"Hello Katomi," Katara said.

"Hi," I answered going about my own business instead of talking to anybody.

Jun and Katara were talking, and I would occasionally join them, but for the most part I was quiet. Katara kept looking over at me, but I ignored her. Jet walked in, and I immediately looked up and smiled, but he flew by me and went over to Katara. My eyes narrowed as they talked together. Jun looked over at me, and walked over and put a reassuring hand on my arm, silently telling me to ignore them. I couldn't take it, so I got up and walked out of the room and towards the room that I knew Sokka was staying in.

He was getting ready for the day, and was probably going out with Jet in a little while. I watched him for a few minutes before clearing my throat.

He whirled around, looking embarrassed. "Oh, um, h—hi," he said quickly.

"Hi," I smiled. "I'm Katomi, you're Sokka, right?"

"Er, yes I am! Can I help you?"

"I just wanted to welcome you to our hideout," I said. "Jet's really happy that you guys decided to stay."

"Oh yeah?" He asked. "How long have you known Jet?"

"For as long as I can remember," I answered. "We are from the same village. My parents died in the same attack as his parents."

"Oh, I'm sorry," He said. "My mom died in a raid on the Southern Water Tribe."

I nodded. "I'm sorry too. Other people don't understand what it's like to lose a parent, but you do." I stepped into his room. "If you ever want to talk about your mom, you can come and talk to me."

"I wouldn't want to bother you with that," Sokka said, nervously.

"It's fine," I replied, smiling. "Everybody else comes and talks to me about their losses. I'm used to it." I put my hand on his arm in a reassuring gesture.

Jet walked into the room, and saw us standing like that. His eyes narrowed and darkened. I took my hand off Sokka's arm and smiled brightly at Jet.

"Morning," I told him.

"Morning," he said, his voice slightly lower than usual. "Sokka it's time to go."

"Oh, uh, ok," Sokka said, looking from me to Jet. "Um, I might come talk to you later, alright Katomi?"

"Sure thing! I know just the place we could go talk in peace. Come find me later," I said happily, walking past Jet.

Jet's arm shot out and he grabbed my wrist. He leaned down and whispered in my ear, "What're you doing?"

"Just what you told me to do," I breathed back, detaching myself from Jet and walking away, a small smirk on my face.

I walked back into the kitchen and saw that Jun was the only one there, and Katara was long gone. I sat down on one of the tables, and smiled at Jun.

"Oh no, I know that look. It's not a good look, what're you up to?"

"Working on a plan," I replied.

"What kind of plan?" She asked, warily.

"My plan to make Jet jealous," I replied, smirking.

Jun rolled her eyes. "I wish you two would just admit you like each other and get it over with!"

I shrugged. "It's not going to happen, Jun, and you know it. So for now, I'm going to get close to Sokka, like Jet asked, but not the way he imagined it."

"What are you going on about?" Jun asked.

"Jet asked me to make friends with Sokka, but I think I'm going to become more then friends with Sokka."

"That is _so _dysfunctional, Katomi. You both are so dysfunctional! Jet's using Katara to get to you and now you're going to do the same thing to Sokka!"

"Jun it's not like that," I said, starting to doubt myself.

"You two play games all the time, and one day it's going to ruin your friendship, Katomi. You need to be careful."

I sighed, "I know that it looks that way to you, but me and Jet have so much history. I don't think we could ruin anything."

Jun shook her head. "We'll see, I guess. I just don't want to see you get hurt, Katomi. You're one of my best friends and I worry about you."

"You don't have to, I'll be fine, I promise," I replied.

Jun just nodded, and told me she had to go get some stuff done. I walked out of the kitchen and saw Aang fooling around and Katara sitting and knitting something. I rolled my eyes and went to go find something to do. I decided to help the younger girls do laundry by the river, and all they could talk about was Sokka, Aang and Katara. They talked about how nice Katara was and it just got on my nerves. That girl is _too _nice. Nobody is that nice all the time, and I know that Jet doesn't usually go for girls who are like that usually.

A few hours later, I was sitting in my room when Sokka knocked on my door. I looked up and he walked in, frowning and looking troubled.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked.

"Can we go talk somewhere?" He asked.

"Yeah, sure!" I said, getting up and leading him to the ropes to get down. We both took separate ropes and made our way through the forest. We stopped at the cliff Jet and I went to a few weeks ago. I sat down, Indian style in the grass and motioned for Sokka to sit too. "What do you want to talk about?"

"It's about Jet," He said. I looked at him, surprised. I was not expecting that.

"Ok," I said, carefully. "What about Jet?"

"You're from the same village as him, and you are obviously friends. But how well do you know him?"

"I would think pretty well," I answered. "What is this about?"

"He beat and robbed an old man," Sokka told me, his face showing all the confusion he obviously felt.

"Sokka…" I started. "Jet's…Jet's a complicated person. Ever since our parents were killed, Jet's held this pathological hatred for every single Fire Nation citizen. He can't let go of his parent's death, and it's driven him to be the person he is. He's rash, and passionate, and he doesn't care who he hurts in his blind rage."

"Katara likes him," Sokka said, looking even more troubled. "You make him sound dangerous."

"He's not…well not really, at least. You shouldn't be worried about her," I told him.

"I don't want Jet to use her and break her heart," Sokka said. I didn't say anything. "You think that's a possibility don't you?"

"I…don't know, Sokka. Jet's never told me anything about his relationship with Katara so I can't say."

"Ok…well thanks for letting me vent," Sokka said.

"No problem," I smiled. "If you ever need to again I'm here to talk."

"Thanks," He said. "You're nothing like Jet."

"Oh…well…thanks?" I answered, laughing.

Jet's POV

I walked into Katomi's room, expecting to see her there, waiting for me, but I was surprised to see that she wasn't there. I walked out of her room and walked towards the kitchen to see if she was there. The kitchen was unnaturally empty, so I went to find Jun or someone else who may know where Katomi is. I saw Smellerbee walking, so I thought that it might be beneficial to ask her if she's seen Katomi.

"Hey Smellerbee," I said smiling at her. "Have you seen Katomi?"

"Um, I think I saw her with that guy, Sokka, earlier," she told me.

"Do you know where they went?" I asked.

"No, sorry," She answered.

"It's fine, I'll see you later," I told her, going another way towards Jun's room.

I knocked once on Jun's door and walked into her room. She was lying in a hammock, doing nothing. When she saw me, she sat up and looked at me.

"Hey Jet, what's up?" She asked.

"Have you seen Katomi?" I asked.

"She went to go talk to Sokka somewhere," Jun told me.

"Ok, thanks," I replied, knowing exactly where she would take him.

I walked over to the ropes and went down, and started walking towards the cliff. I could hear Katomi laughing before I could see her. I stepped behind a tree, and watched her and Sokka. They were talking and laughing, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. I saw Sokka lean forward and brush aside the hair that was in Katomi's face. My eyes narrowed and I felt my blood boil.

I turned around, not going to stand for this. I told her to befriend him not do…that! I angrily started to walk away from them, not paying attention to what I was doing. I got back to the hideout and found Katara in her room. She was sitting alone, so I knocked on the door and waited. She looked up and her face brightened when she saw me.

"Hey Jet!" She exclaimed happily.

"Hey Katara, what're you up to?" I asked.

"Nothing really," She replied. "Do you want to come in?"

"Sure, thanks," I said, smiling. I walked in and sat down on a tree stump. Katara looked at me and then looked down. I could see a faint blush on her cheeks. I smirked slightly. "I'm really glad I saved you guys."

"Yeah?"

I nodded. "You guys have been so…helpful in our struggle against the Fire Nation. I really appreciate it…we all do."

"Well we're glad that we can help you guys. It's been fun being here."

"I'm glad," I smiled, moving towards Katara. "You have beautiful eyes."

Katara blushed and looked at me. "Thanks."

"And your hair…it looks so soft," I said, putting my hand on her hair. "Just like I thought." I moved my hand from her hair to her cheek.

We both moved in at the same time, and our lips met in the middle. I wrapped my arms around her and we made the kiss more passionate. Did I like Katara? A little bit, but not nearly as much as I like Katomi. I heard a gasp and turned and saw Katomi standing there, her eyes filled with tears. We made eye contact and she turned and ran. I was frozen for a moment before I took off after her.

"Katomi wait!" I shouted, but she ignored me and ran to the ropes. She grabbed one and started to go down. And then I heard it; the sound of a rope snapping in half, and then the light thud of Katomi hitting the ground. My eyes widened and I sprinted over to the ropes and grabbed the first one I could find. I was on the ground in seconds and beside Katomi, feeling my heart race.

Katomi was lying on her side, eyes closed. She looked pale and I pulled her into my arms. She was limp and I was terrified that she was really hurt. I grabbed a rope and I held her tightly as we went back up to the hide out. I brought her to my room and called for Janya. She rushed in and looked over Katomi.

"It doesn't look like she broke anything," Janya told me. "But I won't know for sure until she wakes up."

I nodded. "Thanks."

Twenty minutes later, I was still sitting beside Katomi. She looked so peaceful and like she was asleep. I watched her chest rise and fall and felt relieve that she was alive. Her eyes fluttered over and she looked at me. "Jet?" Her voice croaked.

"Katomi, you're awake," I exclaimed, kissing her forehead.

"What happened?"

"A rope snapped, you fell," I told her.

"You kissed Katara," she said, her voice sounding like an accusation.

"Yes, I did," I said. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have."

She didn't say anything in return, and Janya walked in the room and smiled when she saw that Katomi was awake. She spoke lowly to her and I walked out of the room leaving them in privacy. As I walked out, Sokka, Katara, and Aang came over to me.

"What's up?" I asked them, sounding tired.

"We need to talk to you," Katara said.

"Follow me," I replied, leading them to Longshot's room since mine was occupied. I sat down on his hammock and looked at them. "Go."

"Jet, Sokka told us that you beat and robbed an old man," Katara told me.

"Sokka, you told them what happened, but you didn't mention that the guy was Fire Nation?"

"No, he conveniently left that part out," Katara said.

"Fine, but even if he was Fire Nation, he was a harmless civilian," Sokka countered.

"He was an assassin, Sokka," I told them, pulling out a knife from Smellerbee's bed and stabbing it into the tree stump. I started to untwist the top. "See? There's a compartment for poison in the knife." I took the poison out. "He was sent to eliminate me. You helped save my life, Sokka."

"I knew there was an explanation," Katara exclaimed. I sort of felt bad for her, buying into this story. But I need Katara and Aang and this is the only way that this can happen.

"I didn't see any knife," Sokka said.

"That's because he was concealing it," I explained.

"See, Sokka? I'm sure you just didn't notice the knife."

"There was no knife!" Sokka exclaimed. "I'm going back to the hut and packing my things!" He said as he stormed out.

"Tell me you guys aren't leaving yet," I stood up. "I really need your help."

"What can we do?" Aang asked.

"The Fire Nation is planning on burning down our forest," I told them. Not the whole truth, but whatever gets them to help. "If you both use waterbending to fill the reservoir we could fight the fires. But if you leave now," I paused for a second. "They'll destroy the whole valley."

The two looked at each other and agreed to help and went to tell Sokka. I watched them go with a small smirk on my face. My plan is going to work now, as long as Sokka doesn't get in the way. I frowned, remembering Katomi and I made my way back to my room where she was asleep. I sat down next to the bed and watched her sleep.

**AN: I was totally inspired to keep writing and wrote this up today. I'm leaving for the beach in the morning, so I'm not sure when the next update is going to be. I hope you liked the chapter, and I really hope you liked seeing Jet's point of view. Later on in the story you're going to see more of his side of things, so if you liked this then you have another thing to look forward to! Let me know how you liked the chapter!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize is not owned by me.**

Chapter 6

Jet's POV

I sat by Katomi's bedside, watching her sleep until it was time to meet everyone for part one of our plan. I leaned over and kissed Katomi's forehead and then quietly made my way out of the room. People were standing around and waiting for me to come and meet them. I whispered "let's go" quietly before grabbing a rope and going down to the ground. I saw everybody else following suit and I lead everybody to the reservoir. A few others pushed the wagon behind me, filled with blasting jelly.

We got to the cliff overlooking the reservoir. It was still dark out, but I could tell that it would be light out soon enough. I stood at the edge of the cliff looking out over the reservoir and the town.

"Now listen. You're not to blow the dam until I give the signal," I said as I turned around to face everyone. "If the reservoir isn't full, the Fire Nation troops could survive."

I watched as the Duke jumped down from his position on the wagon. "But what about the people in the town? Won't they get wiped out, too?"

I made my way over to him. He's so young and innocent, and he doesn't understand that what we're doing is the right thing. Getting rid of those soldiers will help everybody in the long run. "Look, Duke. That's the price of ridding this area of the Fire Nation," I told him, one of my hands on his shoulder and I was leaning down slightly. I straightened up and looked at Longshot. "Now don't blow the dam until I give the signal got it?" I asked and Longshot nodded.

I heard rustling and looked over. Pipsqueak had Sokka by his ponytail and Smellerbee had a knife to his throat. I frowned when I saw him. If he gets free he could ruin _everything_.

"Where do you think you're going ponytail?" She demanded.

The two of them dragged him, kicking and struggling towards where I was standing.

"Sokka," I said. "I'm glad you decided to join us."

The two of them let go of Sokka and pushed him to his knees in front of me. "I heard your plan to destroy the Earth Kingdom town," he said, slowly standing up.

"Our plan is to rid the valley of the Fire Nation," I corrected him.

"There are people living there, Jet," Sokka yelled. "Mothers and fathers and children."

"We can't win without making some sacrifices," I informed him.

"You lied to Aang and Katara about the forest fire," he accused.

"Because they don't understand the demands of war. Not like you and I do."

"I do understand," he said angrily. "I understand that there's nothing you won't do to get what you want."

"I was hoping you'd have an open mind," I said, calmly. "But I can see you've made your choice." I took my two swords out and hooked Sokka's arms as Smellerbee and Pipsqueak grabbed on to him. "I can't let you warn Katara and Aang." I let go of him, and said "Take him for a walk. A long walk."

Pipsqueak and Smellerbee pulled his arms behind his back and tied them. "You can't do this! Katomi will stop you!"

I didn't let that comment affect me on the outside. I kept my face a perfect mask. "Cheer up, Sokka. We're going to win a great victory against the Fire Nation today."

Katomi's POV

I woke up the next morning, feeling more tired than usual. I turned over and realized that I was in Jet's room, but he was nowhere in sight. I sat up, and felt a pain in my side, so I grabbed it and carefully lied down. I pulled my shirt up and saw a huge bruise on my side, and instantly remembered the rope snapping last night. And then I remembered why I was running…and it was because Jet kissed Katara.

All the feelings I had been feeling last night came full blast at me. I felt the anger and betrayal again as well as the hurt and sadness I felt when I saw them together. How could Jet do this to me? I always thought that we would be together eventually, and that is why we acted the way we did. But he kissed Katara. I cannot believe he did that. Why would he do that? Does he really like her? I just thought he was being friendly and nice and maybe a little flirtatious, but harmless. But then he kissed her, and I knew that he had to like her, even if it was just a little bit.

"Hey, how're you feeling?" a voice said from the doorway. Janya was standing there, smiling at me.

"My side hurts," I told her. "I can barely sit up."

"Well, let me look at it," she said, walking over and lifting up my shirt and looking at the bruise. "It's big, but I don't think anythings broken. You're just going to have to rest for a while and it should stop hurting so bad eventually."

I nodded. "Can you help me sit up?"

"Sure," she smiled, helping me up into a sitting position.

"Where's Jet?" I asked her.

"Um, I'm not sure," she replied, obviously hiding something. "I think I saw him go off with Aang and Katara earlier. He said he'd be back a little while later."

"Oh, ok," I replied, not believing her for a second. "What about Sokka? Have you seen him?"

"Not today, no," She said thoughtfully. He might be off with the others on some mission or something."

"Ok," I answered, smiling. "I'm going to try to make it to my room if that's ok."

"Sure thing," Janya exclaimed. "Just be careful and don't overdo it today."

"I won't," I promised, carefully getting up.

I slowly and carefully made my way to my room. The hideout was very deserted which was very weird for this time of day. There were only a few girls here and there but for the most part it was quiet. Janya did say that Jet went on a mission, I wonder what it's for? Then I remembered what she said about Aang and Katara, and I narrowed my eyes. He kissed her and now he's spending more time with her? Does he like her? I sighed and lied down, too much on my mind to think about Jet's feelings for Katara and whether they're real or if he's just pretending.

Why didn't Jet tell me about the mission he's going on today? Everyone else knows what it is, but I don't? Jet tells me everything! Well everything up until these past few days, that is. Does he not trust me anymore? Did I do something to upset him and make him not want to tell me anything? Does Katara now the details of his plan? Or is she in the dark like me? I guess if Katara is with Jet right now, she must know about his plan.

I started to feel betrayed and upset as tears started to prick my eyes. They started to fall down my cheeks and I couldn't do anything to stop them. These past few days have been an emotional rollercoaster and I can't hold it in anymore. Just as I realized that I do like Jet, maybe even love him; I walk in on him kissing some other girl. How is that fair? Is it supposed to be a sign that I shouldn't be more than friends with Jet? Or was it just bad timing?

Jet's POV

I was walking down the river with Katara and Aang, trying to focus on today's mission. I can't think about Katomi and how she would react to this. If I think about it, I know I will back out and everybody will think I'm a bad leader and that I can't get things done. What we're about to do is the right thing. I know it and everybody else knows it. Sokka is just soft and using Katomi to manipulate me into giving up. I _won't _give up.

"Jet," Katara said, taking me out of my thoughts. "I'm sorry about how Sokka's been acting."

I took the piece of straw out of my mouth. "No worries. He already apologized," I lied.

"Really? Sokka apologized?" Aang exclaimed, stopping and looking at Katara.

"Yeah, I was surprised too," I replied, turning to face them. "I got the sense that maybe you talked to him or something."

"Yeah, I did," Katara answered.

"I guess something you said got through to him. Anyhow, he went out on a scouting mission with Pipsqueak and Smellerbee," I told them, continuing our walk.

"I'm glad he cooled off. He's so stubborn sometimes."

I heard the steam rushing out of the vents and Aang was launched in the air. Katara and I both stopped and I walked over and stood next to her.

"Alright we're here. Underground water's trying to escape from these vents," I told them as Aang came back to the ground. "I need you guys to help it along."

"I've never used bending on water I can't see," Katara told me, sounding nervous. "I don't know…"

I came up behind her and put both my hands on her shoulders, reassuringly. "Katara, you can do this," I told her confidently. She looked down, slightly blushing.

"What about me?" Aang asked.

"I know the avatar can do this," I answered, stepping to be next to Katara.

I watched as the two waterbended water out of one of the vents and the water flowed into the river.

"Yes! Good job!" I cheered, smiling from where I was standing. "This river empties into the reservoir. A few more geysers and it will be full."

"Look ther'es another steam vent!" Aang exclaimed, excitedly.

"Ok, you two keep it up," I told them. "I'll go check on things at the reservoir."

I started to walk back when Katara's voice stopped me. "When we're done, we'll meet you over there."

I turned around to face them, my mask in place. "Actually, probably better if you meet me back at the hideout when you're done," I commanded them and started the long trek back to the reservoir.

As I walked, I allowed myself to think about Katomi again. She's my best friend and I know that when she realizes what we did behind her back, she'll be pretty upset, but it's for her own good. She's too…soft to handle this. She wouldn't want to be part of this, I know it. She thinks that people's lives are more important then our mission to rid this valley of the Fire Nation. What she doesn't realize is that by getting rid of all those soldiers, we'll be helping out any other villages around here and any survivors. They will be able to live a Fire Nation free life, something everybody should be privy to.

Katomi not knowing about this is a good thing. She'll be mad for a few days and probably ignore me and pout around the hideout, but she'll realize I did it for her own good. Just like I do _everything _for her own good. Every choice I make I think of her. She's always in my mind, whether I'm just thinking about her or thinking about how I want to protect her from these monstrous Fire Nation soldiers. I can't stand the thought of one of those pigs hurting her.

I got back to the reservoir and saw that it was already filling up. I'm glad those two can do what they're told, unlike Sokka. Everybody down here was busy getting things ready. I thought about making my way back to the hideout and checking on Katomi, but I decided against it. If she's awake she'll want to come and I don't want her here when the dam is blown. I don't want her to potentially get hurt if something goes wrong, but I know that it won't go wrong.

Katomi's POV

I must have fallen asleep because all of a sudden it was a lot brighter out and I could tell that something was happening. I had this terrible feeling in my chest of dread. I slowly sat up and walked out of my room, looking for Jun. I found her sitting with a few other girls. When she saw me, she looked concerned and immediately stood up and came over to me.

"Shouldn't you be resting?" She asked, sounding worried.

"Where's Jet?" I demanded.

"What? Why?" She asked. "Do you need him?"

"No, I don't need him," I answered. "I just want to know where the _hell _he is!"

"Katomi, you need to calm down!" Jun said soothingly. "He's fine, he's on a mission. He'll be back soon."

"I can't wait that long. I have this feeling of dread and I want to know why everyone's hiding where he is from me!" I started to feel emotional, and tears blurred my vision. Why won't anybody tell me where Jet is?

"I—I'll take you to him in a few minutes if you'll just calm down, ok? You shouldn't be walking around like this with your bruise. Will you rest for a few minutes and then we'll go?"

I nodded, agreeing and sat down in her abandoned chair. I wiped my eyes, embarrassed for losing it like that. I don't like not being told things and I especially don't like not knowing where Jet is. The way everybody's been acting, I couldn't help but think something bad happened and he's hurt, lying in pain somewhere or dead. I know I'm over reacting but I can't help it. I can't help feeling protective of Jet.

Jet's POV

It was a while later, maybe two hours when I thought the reservoir was filled enough to blow the dam. Everybody was almost done with their parts, and the last of the barrels were being put into place. I was standing off to the side on the cliff, hidden by trees. I was watching the progress and I was pretty happy with the way things are going.

But then, I saw _them _walk into the clearing, and I frowned. They're not supposed to be here. They're going to ruin _everything_. The two of them just stood on the edge of the cliff, watching the others as they worked.

"What are they doing?" Katara asked Aang.

"Hey, those are the red barrels he got from the Fire Nation. "

"Why would they need blasting jelly?" Katara asked to herself.

"Because Jet's going to blow up the dam," Aang realized.

I cursed to myself and I started to ready myself for a fight that I knew was coming eventually. But I hadn't expected it to be this soon, before the dam was even blown up.

**AN: Thank you guys so much for all the reviews! They really meant a lot to me. I just got home from the beach Friday so things have been kind of crazy, but I'm definitely back and I should have another update tomorrow or the day after. I know that this chapter had a lot of dialogue from the show, but next chapter will be the last of that for a while. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and please leave a review! Let me know how you guys like the splitting up the chapters between Katomi's point of view and Jets. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize is not owned by me.**

Chapter 7

Jet's POV

"What?" Katara exclaimed, looking at Aang. "No, that would destroy the town. Jet wouldn't do that!"

"I've got to stop him!" Aang exclaimed, grabbing his glider.

I didn't realize how much Katara trusted me until this moment. I felt a little bit of guilt for this, but it was what had to be done.

"Jet wouldn't do that," Katara said, sadly.

I ran past them, grabbing Aang's glider and making him almost fall, but with his airbending he was able to push himself back on the cliff.

"Yes I would," I told them.

"Jet, why?" Katara demanded.

"Katara, you would, too, if you just stop to think. Think about what the Fire Nation did to your mother. We can't let them do that to anyone else ever again."

"This isn't the answer!"

"I want you to understand me, Katara," I told her, facing her. "I thought your brother would understand, but—"

I put my hand out to touch her cheek. "Where's Sokka?" She demanded a few tears falling.

"Katara," I said, placing my hand on her cheek. She looked down, crying more and then hit me with water, sending me to the ground.

"I need to get to the dam," Aang said running for his glider.

I used my sword to pull it to me. "You're not going anywhere without your glider."

We started to fight and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Katomi and Jun make their way into the clearing. I had to put my focus into the fight and ignore her being there for the time being.

Katomi's POV

Jun and I walked into the clearing by the cliff and the sight shocked me. Jet and Aang were fighting and Katara looked upset at them. Jet and Aang disappeared into the trees and I made my way over to where Katara was standing. When she saw me, her eyes narrowed and she took a fighting stance.

"I thought that you were a good person," Katara said angrily. "But you're just like him!"

"What are you talking about?" I demanded, looking at her.

"Oh, don't pretend you don't know," she shouted. "You're just as bad as Jet, killing innocent people! Blowing up that dam won't do anything but cost people their lives!"

I looked at her, feeling my mind race. Blowing up the dam? Jet's blowing up the dam? Why wouldn't he tell me that? And why the hell is he doing this? If I knew I would have tried to talk him out of it!

"Jet's a good leader," I said, coldly. "And if he thinks it's a good idea, then it's a good idea. I will always go along with him."

"You're a monster, just like he is!" Katara yelled. "The lives of those people are on your hands, Katomi! Remember that!"

Katara started to run into the forest, and I followed slowly, my side still hurting. I didn't want to overexert myself so I walked most of the way. When I got there, Katara had used her waterbending to freeze Jet to a tree. I stayed out of sight, behind a tree so I could watch but nobody could see me.

"Why, Jet?" Katara asked. "I can't believe I trusted you. You lied to me! You're sick, and I trusted you!"

I heard a bird call and I knew that it was one of the freedom fighters. Jet responded with his own bird call, affirming whatever action was going to happen next.

"What are you doing?" Katara asked.

"You're too late," Jet told her.

"No!" She cried and turned to look at the dam.

Aang ran and tried to take off with his glider, but he fell to the ground. Katara ran over to him and knelt down next to him.

"Sokka's still out there. He's our only chance," he said weakly.

"Come on, Sokka. I'm sorry I ever doubted you. Please..."

From somewhere in the trees, a lone arrow was launched. I could see it from where I was. The arrow was on fire to get the blasting jelly to ignite. I knew that Longshot had been the one to shoot that arrow.

"No," Katara whispered.

The arrow met with the blasting jelly and there was a loud boom, the dam breaking and water rushed out of the reservoir. It rushed to the town and it destroyed everything and killed everyone there. I felt my eyes prick with tears and I looked down at the ground. How could Jet do this? Kill innocent people and not think twice about it? The tears came pouring out.

"Sokka didn't make it in time," Aang said sadly.

"All those people," Katara said, sadly. Then she turned around and I could see her eyes blazing with anger. "Jet, you monster!"

"This was a victory, Katara," Jet told her. And for the first time in a long time, I saw Jet for who he was. A ruthless killer. One who I somehow fell in love. "Remember that. The Fire Nation is gone, and this valley will be safe."

"It will be safe!" A voice shouted from somewhere. Sokka appeared on Appa, and I had to smile. "Without you."

"Sokka!" Katara exclaimed, clearly happy to see her brother.

"I warned the villagers of your plan, just in time."

"What?" Jet exclaimed, angrily.

"At first they didn't believe me," Sokka started. "The Fire Nation soldiers assumed I was a spy. But one man vouched for me, the old man you attacked. He urged them to trust me, and we got everyone out in time."

"Sokka, you fool!" Jet spat, angrier than I've seen him in a long time. "We could have freed this valley."

"Who would be free? Everyone would be dead."

"You traitor!" Jet yelled.

"No, Jet, you became the traitor when you stopped protecting innocent people," Sokka explained.

"Katara, please, help me," Jet begged.

"Goodbye Jet," Katara said, walking away from him.

"Yip, yip," Sokka said, flying away with them on board, leaving Jet where he was, trapped to the tree.

In that moment, I felt utter respect for Katara. I could tell that she really did like Jet, maybe not as much as I did, but she did care for him. Katara had the strength to leave Jet when she realized who he was, but me? I'm not going to be strong enough to leave him. I'm going to be by Jet's side for a long time, and even if I want to leave, I know that I won't be able to. I know that I can't be on my own; I've never been able to do it.

I wiped my eyes from the crying, and I stepped in front of Jet. He was looking down, looking so pathetically sad that all I wanted to do was hug him and make things better. But I knew that I wouldn't be able to and that I'm too angry with Jet to do anything to make him feel better.

"Katomi!" He exclaimed when he saw me. "You have to help me."

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked, my voice breaking as the tears came again. "Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I trust you," Jet said helplessly. "I was going to tell you! I swear! But then you got hurt, and I didn't want to worry you. And I was trying to protect you!"

"When will you get it? I don't need your _protecting_! I need you to be my best friend again! I don't need you to protect me from life, Jet. By not telling me things, you're just putting me in danger!"

"How am I _putting you in danger_?" He demanded.

"What if I decided I needed something from Gaipan? What if I had been shopping when you blew up the dam?" Jet immediately turned pale and looked sick at the thought.

"I…would've told you," Jet said lamely.

"No you wouldn't," I replied, calling him out on his lie. "You suddenly have it in your head that I am a child, but Jet, I'm not. You need to get that!"

"I do get it!" He yelled. "I get that now you're an adult and you can make your own decisions. Like what you did with Sokka."

"I didn't do _anything _with Sokka, Jet!" I shouted back at him.

"I saw you in the woods with him!"

"What? You were spying on me?" I said, angrily. "You had _no _right to do that! What I do is my business and you have no right to be angry at me. You _told _me to get close to Sokka! I did exactly what you said!"

"I saw him brush your hair out of your face," Jet said. "Tell me what that was about!"

"It was nothing!" I replied. "And besides your one to talk! You _kissed _Katara, Jet! Do you even like her? Or were you just using her for your idiotic plan?"

"I wasn't using her and it wasn't idiotic," Jet snapped.

"Sometimes I wonder if I even know you anymore," I said sadly. "You were so willing to kill those innocent people. What did they do to deserve that, Jet?"

"You aren't thinking of the bigger picture," Jet said, suddenly calm again. "If we got rid of all those soldiers there, it would weaken the Fire Nation. And all those people would have been unfortunate casualties, but that was something I was willing to do."

I looked at Jet in horror, and turned and ran. I could hear him crying for me to stop, but I ignored him and I just ran as fast as I could and as far as I could go. I can't believe him. He was always such a caring person, but could…could he have manipulated me to see only the good and not the bad? Why did I never see Jet as this…this monster? He was so willing to kill those poor people. I don't understand it.

I collapsed onto the ground, a sobbing mess. I can't believe this. I'm in love with a monster. A person who is so clouded by his hatred that he's willing to kill innocents. What does this make me? I'm in love with Jet. Am I a bad person? Am I in love with Jet? Can I be with him, even after this? I mean…yeah, Sokka stopped it, but I don't know…Jet was still going to do it. And he didn't even tell me. He had no plan on telling me! I just…can't believe this. I'm in disbelief.

Jet's POV

"Katomi wait! Please! Come back!" I shouted at her retreating back and I struggled against the ice but it was no use. It wouldn't budge and I was starting to feel numb. The ice was so cold against my body, and I just wanted to get this ice off of me. I can't believe Katara did this to me. I can't stand not being able to run after Katomi. I didn't mean to make her so upset. I would have told her…eventually.

Tyro and Sneers both came running into the clearing and were in front of me in minutes. They both shared the same look of confusion and worry.

"What happened?" Tyro asked.

"Katara did this," I said, through chattering teeth. "G—get me out of he—here."

The two of them immediately went to work, hacking at the ice, and it took a while before I was able to break out of it. I stretched and just felt so free again. It felt good after being confined like that for so long. I never want to feel like that again.

"People have been asking if we should go down to the village and see if there are any survivors," Sneers told me.

"They all survived," I replied.

"What?" Tyro demanded.

"Sokka did it," I told them. "I don't know how he got away from Longshot and Smellerbee. Somebody's going to have to find them, soon."

"I will Jet," Sneers offered. I nodded at him in recognition.

"Tyro, go spread the news about the town, will you?" He nodded. "Thanks. I need to go find Katomi right now. I'll be back at the hideout later."

The two agreed and walked on their separate paths. I turned and started walking into the woods, the way Katomi ran. I need to find her and make things better with her. I can't leave things like this; we both need to talk about what happened. If we don't, I think our relationship will fall apart and we won't be friends anymore, and I can't imagine a life where I don't have Katomi in it.

As I walked, I thought more about Katomi and our relationship. Why do I feel so protective of her? I don't feel as intensely about protecting the others as I do Katomi. I mean yeah, she's my best friend but…do I have feelings for her? Romantic ones? Is…is that why I felt so jealous when I saw Katomi and Sokka yesterday? The sudden realization felt like it hit me in the face. The protectiveness, the jealousy, and everything else all makes sense now. I'm in love with Katomi.

**AN: Thanks so much for the reviews! I'm sorry this chapter is pretty late, but the end part was really difficult to write for some reason. I'm hoping to have the next chapter up sometime this week. I hope you guys liked it! This is the last chapter with direct lines from the episode for a while. Let me know anything you didn't like. I'm glad you guys are all responding so positively to the change in POV's, because from now on they're going to be pretty regular. Please read and review!**


	8. Authors note

Wow…so it's been a very, very long time since I updated this, but I was going through my documents today and found this story again and felt that maybe, if people wanted, I would continue it. I know that it's been so long and I am sincerely sorry for that. All of you who ever reviewed it even when I was gone mean the world to me. I had every intention of continuing it, but then senior year got in the way, and it turned into an awful year for me to say the least, but that is no excuse. But if anybody would still be interested in this story, I would like to maybe continue writing it. I don't know how frequent updates would be, but I would try my best to update at least once every two weeks if anybody would still be interested in reading it.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer****: I don't own anything that you recognize.**

Chapter 8

Katomi's POV

I knelt in the ground, holding my side as I tried my best to just breathe and calm myself down. The tears had subsided, but I could still feel that my cheeks were wet, but I didn't bother to wipe the tears away. My mind was racing as a million thoughts rushed through my mind; I was feeling betrayed and heartbroken as I realized that the boy I loved was someone willing to kill innocent people. What did that make me? Am I a monster for loving him? Are the rest of the Freedom Fighters just as wrong as Jet for this? I put my head in my hands and just felt overwhelmed by all the thoughts and questions and emotions rushing through my head.

I just…can't fathom how Jet got here. How did he become someone who was so willing to hurt and kill innocent people? How had I never even noticed? What does that mean about me? Was I blinded by my feelings for Jet, and now that the blinders were off did my feelings change? I don't think they did…Jet is still my best friend and I don't think that that will ever change. Do I still think that he's the love of my life? Maybe. But I was never really certain about that before…so that hasn't changed much.

As I sat there, I realized, suddenly, that it was getting colder out. I was shivering a little bit as I wrapped my arms around me to try to keep in my body heat. My side was aching and I didn't know if I could get up, unsupported. There were a few trees a few feet away that I thought that I could get to if I crawled, slowly, but this forest was filled with Fire Nation traps and you could never be too careful. I helplessly looked around the clearing, almost wishing that Jet would walk through the trees and be my hero in shining armor again, but I didn't know what would happen now. I left Jet frozen to that tree, and I have no idea if he's angry at me for that or if he understands. With Jet, I never really knew even if we've been friends all these years. He's constantly surprising everybody.

I froze as I heard a twig snap and leaves rustle off in the distance. I looked at the trees behind me and slowly started to move back, wincing and holding my side. Janya was right, I shouldn't have gone out today. I should have stayed where I was and rested. I shouldn't have risked this. I almost did wish I could have stayed ignorant to what Jet did today. The sounds were getting closer and my heart was pounding in my chest as I continued to move backwards, my eyes never leaving the spot that I knew this person…or animal would appear in at any moment.

As I saw the thing get closer, I could tell by it's figure that it was a person. Who, I had no idea. I was growing more and more fearful by the moment as they got closer and the tree behind me seemed to get farther and farther away. I knew that this person had to see me, there was no way that they didn't. I looked up to the sky and wondered if I was going to go and see my parents again, if this person was going to kill me.

I knew that the possibility that this figure was Fire Nation was high. They had to be starting to look for us, they knew who was responsible for the flood and they had to be after us. There was no way that we would get away without a fight, now that Sokka told them who was responsible for blowing up the damn. I have no idea if he told them where our hideout was, but if he did we could find a way out of it, we could move to another forest, we could start over. Hell, we might already have to after everything that has happened. The people of Gaipan were typically on our side, but after this? Who knows what will happen.

"Please, don't hurt me," I suddenly burst out, my eyes wide with fear.

"Katomi?" A gruff voice asked. "It's me."

Jet's POV

I'm in love with my best friend. How…is that even possible? She was just supposed to be my best friend, she was never supposed to turn into someone I fell in love with. I never wanted to fall in love with someone, I saw what happened to my parents, they loved each other and they both died trying to protect one another, and look at what happened? They didn't think to try to save me and live to protect me. They died for each other and left me behind. I never want to do that to someone else, it was why I never wanted to admit these…feelings for Katomi.

If I admitted that I loved Katomi, then I could end up hurting her more than I ever have before. What if I can't live up to the standards that she deserves? Katomi is an amazing girl and she deserves anything she could possibly want. I know that I can't do that for her. I'm too selfish. I know that that was what people said about me, and I didn't care. I knew that I was selfish, but with Katomi all these years, I've tried to be the man that my dad was raising me to be. But I don't know how well I've turned out. I know that I'm bitter and hell, I manipulate people to get what I want. And I don't care. All that matters to me is keeping Katomi safe and to get rid of the Fire Nation. I didn't have time for relationships and dating.

It's amazing what you can think of when you're just walking through the woods, alone. Katomi was right about this place, there was something that brought clarity to your mind. I shook my head slightly and just laughed to myself. 'Snap out of it, Jet' I said to myself. I couldn't believe that I was thinking so much. I never used to do this, I just reacted and did whatever I had to to survive. But maybe living in this area for so long has gotten rid of that freedom, of just surviving. We have it good here, and it's made us all a little bit complacent.

As I walked, I could see something on the ground like a cowering animal…or a person? Katomi immediately crossed my mind and I started to walk faster, wanting to see what it was. I knew that Katomi's side was still hurt and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something bad happened to her and it was my fault. She ran off because of me and I would never forgive myself if she was hurt even worse because she ran away from me.

"_Please don't hurt me!" _A voice that I instantly recognized as Katomi's called out.

"Katomi, it's me," I said as I stepped into the light.

Her eyes immediately narrowed as she seemed to relax at the same time. I made my way over to her, carefully and crouched before her. "I'm sorry," I said, softly.

"For what?" She asked, bitterly, hurt laced through her voice.

I noticed her nursing her side, but I knew not to help her, just yet. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the plan, I'm sorry I kissed Katara, I'm sorry I've been an awful friend these past few days, I'm sorry I didn't believe you about Sokka, I'm sorry—"

She put her hand up to stop me from saying anymore. "Do you really mean it, Jet?" She asked me, softly. I nodded my head. "I want to forgive you so badly…but I don't know if I can, Jet. This just keeps happening, over and over again. We keep going in a circle and fighting and arguing and it never gets any better. I don't understand…we used to be so good together, what happened?" She asked, her voice sounding more vulnerable than I have heard it in a long time.

I sighed. "I don't know, Katomi," I told her softly, shaking my head, even though I did know. Everything changed because we grew up, because I fell for her.

"I can't keep doing this," she repeated, shaking her head. "I want things to go back to the way they used to be…I just…want to be best friends again."

I felt my heart break a little bit as she said that, but then it strengthened over again and I looked down at Katomi. "Then that's what we're going to do, okay?" I said, gently, pulling her into my lap, being careful not to hurt her side. "We're going to be best friends again, and we're going to stop with the fighting all the time." I felt stronger now, Katomi didn't love me and I could bury my feelings deep down inside of me and forget about them. I wasn't going to hurt her now. I could still protect her and maybe…just maybe, I could find a nice husband for Katomi, one that could love her the way that she deserved and the way that I couldn't.

Katomi's POV

As Jet spoke, I just buried myself into his chest, closing my eyes. I knew that he would never return my feelings for him, and that was what was ruining our friendship. I knew that if I ever told him how I felt, it would get even worse and I just didn't want to deal with that. Jet was too important to me to lose and I could settle for just being best friends. As long as he was in my life, I would be happy.

We both sat there in silence, not knowing what to say or if there really were words to say right now. I was feeling comfortable and safe again, I knew that with Jet, nothing could hurt me. He would make sure I stayed safe and I could finally let my guard down, despite the fact that we were in the middle of the woods, with Fire Nation possibly lurking around the woods. But that didn't matter to me. All that mattered was being with Jet.

"How's your side?" He asked, breaking the silence.

"It hurts…I barely want to move," I admitted to him.

He was quiet for a few moments. "We'll stay out here tonight…and then I'll carry you back in the morning. It's too dark to head back now."

My heart raced a little at the thought of sleeping outside, especially after today. But I needed to believe that Jet would do anything he could to keep me safe. He wouldn't let me get hurt again, not after he promised that things would get better.

"Okay," I said, looking up at him and giving him a small smile.

Jet leaned down and kissed my forehead. "Calm down, it'll all be okay. Get some rest, okay? We'll get home in the morning."

I nodded my head as I suddenly yawned, realizing just how tired and exhausted I was. Today took so much out of me, and I couldn't manage to stay awake much longer. I cuddled into Jet as he tried to keep me warm. As I drifted off to sleep, I could have sworn that I heard Jet whisper "_I'm in love with you, Katomi."_

Jet's POV

I couldn't believe that I just did that. I told Katomi that I was in love with her, but I'm sure that she was asleep. I thought that maybe…if I told her, just once, then maybe it would be easier to bury inside of me. I would be able to forget about it if it was out in the open. I knew that Katomi didn't hear me, that she was asleep. Or that was what I had to tell myself and make myself believe.

The night went on slowly as I stayed up and kept watch of everything. I didn't want to fall asleep and risk Katomi's life, but I was tired too. I wished that I could just pick her up and carry her back to the tree houses, but I knew that we weren't that close and it could be dangerous out there. Animals came out at night, as well as the Fire Nation. Now that they knew who tried to flood the town, we had to be on high alert. One wrong move could end in death now, and we had to be careful.

My eyes started to grow healthy and even though I was trying to fight it off, I just couldn't anymore. I knew that I was going to fall asleep at any moment and with Katomi in my lap, I couldn't get up and walk around to wake myself up without waking her up. I didn't want her to wake up since she was so exhausted from today, and it was all my fault. I shook my head slightly and after a few moments, I slowly drifted off to sleep.

Katomi's POV

I jolted awake suddenly and looked around, seeing orange and red. Flames. I could see some Fire Nation soldiers closing in on us and I scrambled off of Jet, waking him up in the process. "Wha—" he started before he saw the soldiers and got up as quickly as he could. We were in trouble, there were at least five soldiers to just us two and I was hurt. I had no idea how we were going to get out of this, but I knew that we had to. We had to get away from this and get back to the tree houses.

Jet and I shared a look before getting into position, ready to fight. I would fight through the pain, knowing that this could be a life or death situation and there was nothing else we could do now. It was too late. They were here and there was no way to turn time back and not let this happen. We were going to fight.

**AN: Wow, this felt…so good to write, you guys have no idea. It felt so nice to just get back into this world and to be able to write something that I enjoy. I have the next…6 or 7 chapters planned out but not written, but I plan on getting on that so I can update again in the next week or so. But who knows, I'm feeling inspired and I might be able to crank out another chapter this weekend, but I'm not going to make any promises. I'm not sure how I feel about the Jet parts so if you could leave feedback on that, it would be greatly appreciated. If you guys have any requests or suggestions feel free to leave them in a review or private message me, I'd love to talk to you guys about things you'd like to see. But that's it for now, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'm so happy to be back! **


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